A new hybrid

[liammogs]

I take you're point I could put beltex to the tex/char and breed the best lambs possible but it would fall down when it came to the maternal side( keeping a closed flock using three breeds while maintaining maximum carcase quality) I couldn't do this with Texel /beltex/char but I can with rouge instead of beltex.

No no not use a beltex insted of rouge what do you put back on the rouge x tex x char ewes or are those your 'fat lambs' so to speak no ewe lambs from the 3 way cross kept?

 

[glensman]

Admittedly 20 odd years ago, but the Rouges I used certainly didn't have any better milking ability (or persistency) than the Charollais we used at the time. They were also thinner skinned and less easily finished. Perhaps they've changed since then?

The lambs certainly look well enough @glensman , but can we really be judging a sheep's genetics from a picture (not having a pop at you) these days? I'd suggest it's almost as poor a measure as the placing order in a show ring, even though I suspect most of us will still get swayed by looks.

I appreciate your point, the only thing I can say is that these lambs look like this off nothing but forage and this demonstates their genetics and bone structure as well as possible without recording.

 

[glensman]

No no not use a beltex insted of rouge what do you put back on the rouge x tex x char ewes or are those your 'fat lambs' so to speak no ewe lambs from the 3 way cross kept?

We currently have rouge✖ texel/char yearlings they will go to char for the first year(no females retained) then Texel after that. Our plan is to continuously rotate rou,tex,char

 

[liammogs]

We currently have rouge✖ texel/char yearlings they will go to char for the first year(no females retained) then Texel after that. Our plan is to continuously rotate rou,tex,char

Do you only retain then the texel sired and the rouge sired? They sound good ewes but as your doing now the char lambs dont get kept, arnt you more inclined to try a beltex or another terminal sire to produce your 'fat lambs' no replacements kept? Youd be running a closed flock but one producing replacements other fat lambs?

 

[glensman]

Do you only retain then the texel sired and the rouge sired? They sound good ewes but as your doing now the char lambs dont get kept, arnt you more inclined to try a beltex or another terminal sire to produce your 'fat lambs' no replacements kept? Youd be running a closed flock but one producing replacements other fat lambs?

I prefer to keep the char females out of Texel ewes, I'll see what the females are like out of the rouge and decide then.

 

[M-J-G]

From my past experience a Rouge x Texel will be an OK ewe, miles ahead of a Char x, which were some of the most horrid ewes I've experienced, for both maternal qualities and temperament, also terribly difficult to keep cover on in winter.

 

[glensman]

From my past experience a Rouge x Texel will be an OK ewe, miles ahead of a Char x, which were some of the most horrid ewes I've experienced, for both maternal qualities and temperament, also terribly difficult to keep cover on in winter.

Charollais certainly not much to write home about maternally, having said that our Texel /char ewes are pretty decent mothers with plenty of milk.

 

[glensman]

This is the rouge tup that sired the hybrid rou/tex/char tup lambs

 

[Lovegoodstock]

I use char, suff, one rouge, odd texel and a fair few beltex x char and tex x beltex across various mothers. Only bought rouge tup as bought just 15 rouge on chev x mules and were the best things I ever bought, chap never sold anything as good as those 15 again so bought my own tup toput over chev mules. Huge sheep, milk well, susceptible to bad bags in cold may winds, unbelievable mothers, including fostering on, first 1/2 maybe 3 lambings vey very tight, ridiculously so. But 15 bred by one tup, hardly a fair assessment